Germany's mtm labs raises 22M euros

Heidelberg, Germany-based mtm laboratories says that it has raised 22.0 million euros ($28.0 million) in a series C financing from a consortium of existing and new investors. Proceeds from this will enable the company to fund the clinical development and commercialization of its proprietary diagnostic and screening devices in the field of cervical cancer, it notes.

Peter Pack, chief executive of mtm, said: "the clinical development and commercialization of our in vitro diagnostic products is now securely funded going forward." The firm plans to use the proceeds of this financing to fund the clinical and commercial development of its p16INK4a based CINtec and Cervatec IVD products. mtm's proprietary p16INK4a biomarker is strongly over-expressed in pre-cancerous and cancerous cells of the cervix, the firm notes.

Erich Platzer, founding partner and investment advisor of HBM Partners, commented: "mtm laboratories is taking a unique marker approach to the screening and diagnosis of cervical cancer, the largest existing screening market in oncology. We feel that the strength of the science combined with the development and commercialization experience of the team makes mtm a very attractive investment."